Have you ever mistakenly tried to get into the wrong car?
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (46276)
July 15, 2025 1:31pm CST
Yesterday, my oldest daughter had a lengthy appointment. She and her husband went together, parked the car, and were done sooner than expected. They left the building and walked to the car. An older man was sitting on the curb by their parking spot. He seemed alert and well-kept, and they walked to their car, unlocked the door, and he yelled ''That's MY car, what are you doing??''
Of course, it was their car, not his. He had been trying to get into it for an hour, but his key fob wouldn't unlock the door, as it wasn't his. He didn't realize this, and had called a locksmith!! They ended up calming him down, helped him find his car (the next row of cars over) and he called the locksmith to cancel--but the locksmith pulled up just as he was calling him. My daughter thought surely the locksmith would charge the fellow anyway, but he didn't--they all had a good laugh about it, so it ended well.
I suppose if this story has a lesson in it, make sure the car you are trying to unlock is your own car? The main thing is, no one panicked.
Have you ever mistaken someone else's car for your own?
11 people like this
11 responses
@LooeyVille (71)
• United States
11h
Oh yes. More than once. The worst one was a red rental car in Texas at a big hotel parking lot and my key actually fit into somebody else's car!
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
9h
Now that would be weird for sure, that your key worked in someone else's vehicle. Very strange!
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
8h
I drove Jeeps for years. The last one I had was evidently a popular color, I saw many like mine. I think two or three times over the period that I had it, I tried to open someone’s car.
3 people like this
@kareng (77662)
• United States
1h
@MarieCoyle I always have to think twice also, like right now when I just got a new car and different color.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
1h
@kareng
I know how that is. I had the last Jeep for many years, and I would look for it instead of the new car.
@AmbiePam (100473)
• United States
8h
I think I did once, but before I took any measures to get in it I realized my mirror didn’t have an ornament hanging from it so it wasn’t mine. It pays to have kitschy things in one’s car.
My sister lives two and a half hours away, so my dad and I didn’t get much help from her taking care of mom during her dementia battle. However, once every couple of months he would go to Tulsa, close to where she lived. He’d leave my mom with her and go about his business (this was before she had ANY kids). One day, she ran to the gas station, and left my mom in the car while she ran in. When she came back out, her heart dropped. My mom wasn’t in the car! Three cars over was my mom sitting in an empty stranger’s car. My sister quickly went over and got her out.
That’s not exactly what your discussion was about, but it reminded me of it.
My sister lives two and a half hours away, so my dad and I didn’t get much help from her taking care of mom during her dementia battle. However, once every couple of months he would go to Tulsa, close to where she lived. He’d leave my mom with her and go about his business (this was before she had ANY kids). One day, she ran to the gas station, and left my mom in the car while she ran in. When she came back out, her heart dropped. My mom wasn’t in the car! Three cars over was my mom sitting in an empty stranger’s car. My sister quickly went over and got her out.
That’s not exactly what your discussion was about, but it reminded me of it.2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
2h
Oh, as I was reading this I feared you were going to say, your mom drove off in the car! Well, at least there was no harm done and she was OK, that's the main thing at the time.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (43860)
• United States
9h
Yeah, I did that, but soon learned it wasn't my car. Glad that all worked out okay.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (194717)
• United States
3h
I'm sure that I have. I just don't remember it.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
2h
It's amazing how alike they can look at just a glance, then you get up to it and realize it's just basically the color of the car, and the size, that made you think it was your car.
@snowy22315 (192782)
• United States
6h
Yes!!! The time I did it in my defense though it was at night. I have probably walked to cars I thought were mine dozens of times though
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
2h
One time a guy tried to get into my Jeep...I came up to him, finally asked if I could help him. He said ''I am just trying to get into my car!'' I told him, let me try...and I opened the door with the key. He was just astounded...he really did think it was his Jeep. His was two more parking stalls from mine, so it was an honest mistake, and we had a good laugh!
@wolfgirl569 (119276)
• Marion, Ohio
6h
I did with moms van. One just like it had parked just a few spots from where I had parked us. The heads up for us was when the doors were locked. We hadn't locked
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
2h
I would have been the opposite, my car is always locked if I am not in it--unless it's in the garage.
@RasmaSandra (86951)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9h
When I did have a car sometimes I could not tell where it was in a full parking lot so I started to right down all the significant things around where I parked it,
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
8h
If I park in long term parking, I wrote down the isle number, etc just in case I forget, and put the information in my wallet.
@xFiacre (13908)
• Ireland
10h
@mariecoyle Many times! And I’ve had one lady try to get into my car while I was sitting in it. She was quite indignant that I should be sitting there and took some convincing that it wasn’t her car. Another time I was parked outside a cinema waiting for my son and two woman got in the back seat and shouted an address at me and kept chatting to each other. They thought I was their taxi and again were indignant that I wasn’t as if it was all my fault.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
•
2h
Oh, my. Both of those instances sound as if the people blamed you for being in your own car. I would have been so embarrassed to get into someone's car like that by mistake.
@JudyEv (358565)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
I hopped in the passenger seat once much to the consternation of the driver!! Our car was the same colour and make but was next-door to his.
